What’s up with Juventus?

It’s hard to say that a team that has completely dominated the Serie A this year has a problem, but I honestly don’t understand Juventus. They took over the Seria A lead from a Roma team that started red-hot, and haven’t looked back. They barely broke a sweat in winning the league last year and look to do the same this season. But I just have one question: Why have they been so disappointing in Europe?

Now, I understand that they made it to the semifinals of the Europa league. But is that is really something to hang your hat on? Does Kentucky get excited when they almost win the NIT? To be fair, Juventus were eliminated by a very solid Benfica squad who have already been named Portuguese league champions. But the final was going to be played in Turin! That’s a huge opportunity squandered for them and their fans. They played up a man from the 67th minute on, and weren’t able to get anything in the home leg.

In last year’s CL, they advanced to the quarters before losing 4-0 to Bayern, a result that doesn’t look as bad as it may have at the time. With another year of experience for players like Paul Pogba and the addition of a striker like Fernando Llorente, who has really come on in the second half of the season, they looked poised for another deep run. Their performance in the Champions League this year was abysmal. They were drawn into a group with Real Madrid, Galatasaray, and FC Copenhagen. In those six games, they managed one win. ONE WIN. And that came in their easiest fixture against Copenhagen at home. This was by no means the most difficult group, and they failed to advance after losing to Galatasaray on the final day.

It also wasn’t just Juventus. Only one Italian team advanced to the knockout round of the CL, and that was AC Milan, who were promptly dispatched by Atletico Madrid. Napoli, drawn into a difficult group, was eliminated on the final day of group play. Italy as a whole has been very disappointing. Is Serie A that far below the other European leagues in terms of quality? 10 years ago Seria A was the best league in Europe, routinely having teams reach the CL final. But the financial struggles of many Italian clubs has taken a toll on Italian teams, and that was reflected in this year’s Champions League.

It’s just so odd that they’ve managed to look so dominant in Italy and yet fail to do anything in Europe. They have world-class players like Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, and Andrea Pirlo, who make up one of the world’s best midfields. They have the players to compete with teams in Europe. They also have a manager in Antonio Conte who is very highly regarded. Pogba and Vidal are wanted by a host of clubs from around Europe, and it will be extremely difficult for Juventus to hang onto them, especially with the price tags they will demand. If they do indeed lose those players, they will definitely look back at this year with regret.